Erik I

Filed under #news and #lifeInNorway

One of the saddest stories from Norway this century has been “the Baneheia murders”. It is disgusting and while I have forced myself to listen to the verdict today I won't write much about it. More details than any sane person would want to know are already out on the internet.

For me the interesting part is that the verdict is extremely clear when it points out that Jan Helge Andersen alone was responsible for everything.

This is interesting because while Viggo Kristiansen has now been a free man for around two years already, the previous court decision – as far as I could understand it at least – didn't go far enough in clearing his name.

Ironically, Jan Helge Andersen, by desperately trying to pull Viggo back into the fray has forced the court to take a position on all his claims.

This has resulted in rather long verdict that destroys these claims – hopefully once and for all.

Please note that nobody is claiming Viggo Kristiansen is some kind of hero: he has a criminal past.

But he has been imprisoned for around two decades for something he did not do.

The verdict is also clear that the police work was shoddy, but according to people who have followed the case closer than me concludes it wasn't intentionally but rather they fell into a confirmation bias trap.

Still it is a terrible reminder why people should be considered innocent until proven guilty and why police should look for exonerating evidence as much as they look for incriminating evidence.